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91

PC Zone

Finally, of course, there's Lara herself. She's got new costumes (a different one for each stage this time). She's got new moves (including a vaguely pornographic down-on-all-fours crawling motion). She makes more attractive groaning noises. She drives more vehicles (kayaks and quad bikes). She dies in more hideous ways. And her ponytail sways in the wind. That makes her a more valid superstar than, say, Sandra Bullock. Lara deserves the box office. We still love her. We're sure we shouldn't, but we do.

The bottom line is that if you liked TOMB RAIDER, you’ll love TOMB RAIDER III. Core has done a great job of making the TR universe a visually compelling place to explore with cinematic, situational music plus diabolical traps and bad guys thrown in for excitement. For those who can dig it, TOMB RAIDER III is by far the biggest and baddest of the series.

When it really comes down to it, TRIII is more of the same, only done better. They game is huge and it will take a long time to finish, but it's also horribly frustrating in parts and you may end up tossing it aside to play some other more rewarding game. In the end, TRIII is fun, but offers nothing new to an already played-out series. If you're a fan, you'll love TRIII, but if you're a casual gamer you might want to look at some of the other titles available for the holiday season.

If you loved the first two Tomb Raider installments and can't wait for more, then Tomb Raider III is worth checking out. Likewise, if you've seen Lara Croft on posters but have never played a game in the series, then Tomb Raider III is a perfectly enjoyable game that might just provide you hours of fun. But if you're looking for something new, you'll need to look somewhere else.

You get the feeling, where's the rest of the game? Not sure where they went wrong, but I noticed the improvements. The maps have been redone; Lara's model got a huge face-lift. The animations have been increased and improved. The guns are louder and the grunts are in sync. The CG's screens still captivate me. And the story doesn't lag, there is still a good plot. Certain graphic issues were fixed and now you begin to wonder what more can you do? Where else can Lara go? I'm not sure but I do know this, she's running out of hot spots to crash.

Now that the new stuff is out of the way, there's really no other way to describe Tomb Raider 3 other than to say it's an inferior game in an otherwise solid series. Although it looks and plays very similar to TR2, this newest installment has lost all its soul. It offers very little in terms of innovation or decent gameplay. I've tried to like it, forced myself to like it, but, for all intents and purposes, 40 monkeys and a game developing kit could've done a superior job.

I think it is obvious that both the replay value and entertainment factor are almost nil. You have played this game before. Lara is a little rounder, and she gets some mildly arousing (I'm kidding, Phire) costume changes. But other than that its the same old, same old. The fact is TR3 is a disappointment to new comers and loyal TR fans alike. It is my opinion that the series has been decaying slowly, and Tomb Raider 3 just emphasizes this point.

Have you ever seen a movie sequel that left you feeling cheated and made you long for the original magic? As I endured this game, I thought of the classic puzzles and maps from the inaugural title, and time and again Tomb Raider III came up short. The graphics are more refined, but lag behind current standards; the camera and character motions have been amended, but the game feels stiff and unyielding when compared to the breakthrough dynamics of Heretic 2; and despite some impressive map designs, the environments are uninspired. Nothing approaches the sheer vertical genius of St. Francis’ Folly or Lara’s epic quest through a submerged ocean liner. Eidos has released a game that is infrequently engaging at best, and that is not enough. Lara is no longer the heroine, but a damsel in distress.

The sloppy design and threadbare technology woven into this title smacks of greed - it looks like the very popular Tomb Raider franchise is being milked for every penny of profit without any great regard for quality. But if gamers send the message that it's bad business to release a second-rate, low-effort sequel -by leaving this title in the store- maybe we can look forward to something creative and worthwhile for Tomb Raider IV.